Breeding - Planning for Success

[el8ch]

Hey BP.net,

Background info: I am a new BP owner with the hopes of one day breeding for the puspose of building my own collection, educating myslef and making a little money in the process if possible. I am a firm believer in researching prior as opposed to during and am a heavy planner especially when bringing new life into the world and thus is the reason for this post.

It only makes sense that in order to be successful you need to plan ahead especially when one intends to raise hatchlings for breeding purposes.

1) What snake combinations are recommended for the 'beginner' breeder keeping in mind budget and purchasing interest. Also, what are the outcomes of these combinations. Age/Weight/Maturity before a male or female snake is adequate to breed? etc...

2) In terms of preparing for breeding what are the neccesarry tools/equipment that are required to ensure that proper care is taken with the eggs and to ensure successful hatchlings. I have seen mutiple variations of store bought and homemade incubator systems, breeding rooms etc.

3) The breeding process - any good links or overviews outling the step by step breeding process?

Utimately I am just in search of any suggestions that any proven breeders out there can give to a hopeful beginner.

Qusetions/Comments welcome.

Thanks in advance!

[RemysBalls]

1. As for the best combinations for beginners there really is no such thing. The best combinations are what your breeding goals are. Some people may want to breed pies while others may want to end up with a queen bee. Decide what your goal in breeding is. 700 grams is recommended at least for a male and females should be close to 1500. Normally a year to two years for males while females are two to three.


2. The type of incubator is up to you as well. It depends on how many snakes you plan on breeding and what your budget is. If you are only going to only breed one or two snakes a store bought one is fine. If you are breeding lots of snakes a store bought one will be expensive. You could make one out of a old freezer for much cheaper.

3. http://www.jkobylkareptiles.com/page.php?id=011

Hopefully this helps some.

[Xan Powers]

1. As for the best combinations for beginners there really is no such thing. The best combinations are what your breeding goals are. Some people may want to breed pies while others may want to end up with a queen bee. Decide what your goal in breeding is. 700 grams is recommended at least for a male and females should be close to 1500. Normally a year to two years for males while females are two to three.


2. The type of incubator is up to you as well. It depends on how many snakes you plan on breeding and what your budget is. If you are only going to only breed one or two snakes a store bought one is fine. If you are breeding lots of snakes a store bought one will be expensive. You could make one out of a old freezer for much cheaper.

3. http://www.jkobylkareptiles.com/page.php?id=011

Hopefully this helps some.

ha I was just about to link that again.

but yes that is the timeline I use as well and i find it's very helpful when trying to plan ahead and get an idea of where you should be at.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk. Xan Powers!

[el8ch]

1. As for the best combinations for beginners there really is no such thing. The best combinations are what your breeding goals are. Some people may want to breed pies while others may want to end up with a queen bee. Decide what your goal in breeding is. 700 grams is recommended at least for a male and females should be close to 1500. Normally a year to two years for males while females are two to three.


2. The type of incubator is up to you as well. It depends on how many snakes you plan on breeding and what your budget is. If you are only going to only breed one or two snakes a store bought one is fine. If you are breeding lots of snakes a store bought one will be expensive. You could make one out of a old freezer for much cheaper.

3. http://www.jkobylkareptiles.com/page.php?id=011

Hopefully this helps some.

Hey Remy - great link! That is exactly what I was looking for.

In terms of what I want to get out of the breeding process I really have to do my research still. I really like the Lesser Platinums and Pinstripes and Albino's are starting to grow on me a bit too. I had yet to look into what I could end up with if I were to start my collection with some if these. There are other variations that I love, but are just not realistic to be able to purchase (right now). I am looking at getting a female in the next 3 months or so, hopefully I will have a better idea of what route to take by then.

I have normal male right now, so once he is of adequate age/size I may give him a chance to prove his stuff providing I have a good female to pari him with. In the process of refinishing my basement right now so it is giving me the opportunity to create a nice space for my reptiles and other assorted aquariums.

[ace_singapore]

I am telling you you are definitely at the right place; this forum is full of if not contains much more info you are seeking from all the generous and experienced hobbyists/breeders... You just have to spend time digging. GL!

[RemysBalls]

These are a few of my suggestions. Find a morphs color that you like and if it is something like the lesser which is a codom find a morph with a pattern that you like and if possible make it a recessive gene one. It is pretty easy to produce codom to codom or codom to dom or dom to dom morphs. I would suggest settign a goal of making a combo morph that includes a recessive gene. A lesser clown would be awesome. In the long wrong I think there is much more pride and gratification making combo morphs that have recessive genes in them. They do take more planning but the payoff is so worth it.

[Sarin]

You have gotten some great advice so far. However, I have a few things to add.

If you're serious about wanting to get into breeding, I would first look into what morphs you like, reguardless of what it is made of. You may like Pinstripes, Albinos, and Lessers as stand alone morphs, but you may find yourself not liking some of their combos as much as others. So I would first look into your favorite designer morphs, and trying to build up to produce them. Nothing like creating your own favorite 2 or 3 gene morph yourself!

If you want to start with hatchlings, start with females. They take longer to grow and give you more time to focus on what male to buy. And in the meantime, the prices will have lowered and your optiones widened.

Also, I would highly recommend investing in a rack system or two while building your collection. You may not need it right away, but it's definitely good to have. I'd rather have empty unused slots then not enough. Especially when the time comes for breeding, you won't have to worry about buying everything at once.. It's already there.

Take it slow, find out what you personally want to accomplish and you will be fine. Good luck!